half hour

noun

1

: thirty minutes

2

: the middle point of an hour

half-hourly

ˈhaf-ˈau̇(-ə)r-lē 

ˈhäf-

adverb or adjective

Examples of half hour in a Sentence

Trains depart every half hour.

I waited a half hour in line.

Recent Examples on the Web

Airport security lines at major hubs have surged, stretching outside of terminals and sometimes taking over four-and-a-half hours for someone to get through screening. —Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2026

The indictment accused them of appearing to browse the internet and fall asleep instead of conducting mandatory inmate counts, including checking on Epstein every half hour. —Erik Ortiz, NBC news, 25 Mar. 2026

With a half hour of ads per two-hour episode, that amounts to several million dollars in revenue per show. —Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 20 Mar. 2026

Complimentary ski shuttles run every half hour to the slopes during the winter and transport guests to Main Street in the evenings, while the free city bus stops at the hotel on a frequent schedule. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for half hour

• bower
• cower
• dour
• flour
• flower
• fower
• glower
• our
• power
• scour
• shower
• sour

Kids Definition

half hour

noun

1

: thirty minutes

2

: the middle point of an hour

half-hourly

ˈhaf-ˈau̇(ə)r-lē, 

ˈhȧf-

adverb or adjective